ABSTRACT
Karl Meier (“Rolf”) was born on 16 March 1897 in St. Gallen, Switzerland, as “Rudolf Carl Rheiner” and was baptized in the local Protestant church. 1 He was an illegitimate son of Elisabeth Rheiner, who later married an Italian and disappeared from view. He was raised by the childless couple Thomas and Wilhelmine Meier, who formally adopted him on 10 April 1912. His adoptive parents wanted him to go into business, but he early wanted a career as an actor and by 1917 he had found a position in Zurich that allowed him to train as an actor on the side.
